Transforming Islam among Roma communities in the Balkans: a case of popular religiosity

In recent decades, numerous popular shrines devoted to saints have emerged in Romani settlements, usually in urban areas. At first sight, these shrines and the veneration of saints are reminiscent of the cult of saints and tombs common in regional Muslim traditions and beyond, and possess particular local features. A detailed analysis of this local case shows new meanings and forms the “wider” tradition gains under new conditions. This paper explores the way the regional Muslim tradition of worshiping holy sites is localized and elaborated within popular religious practice of certain Romani communities in the Balkans. Specifically, it focuses on the contestation of the issues of authenticity and marginality of this vernacular practice in order to reveal the peculiarity of images and meanings Islam gains at the intra-confessional level in a quite heterogeneous social and cultural environment. The material discussed in this paper was collected during ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2011 and 2014 in Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.     

Integración,mestizaje y nacionalismo en el México revolucionario. Forjando Patria de Manuel Gamio: la diversidad subordinada al afán de unidad

This paper analyzes the integration program in Manuel Gamio's Forjando Patria as a national project arising in the historical context of revolutionary Mexico, where cultural diversity is conditional on the idea of unity. Firstly, we trace the relationship of the integration program with its history, the concepts of “mestizaje” and “mestizo” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Secondly, we analyze the influence of some European models of nationality and socio-cultural change on Gamio's integrationism, in the context of socio-ethnic heterogeneity in Mexico during 1916. Finally, we highlight the links between the concepts of cultural diversity become visible, nation and nationalism in this author's work.     

Tradition and modernity: an obsolete dichotomy? Binary thinking,indigenous peoples and normalisation

The debates over Indigenous peoples and development are often framed within the discussion on the shift towards modernity, the imposition of economic liberalism and resistance against external interventions, with a tendency to see Indigenous peoples as a possible alternative to the world economic order. However, looking at many development agencies’ discourses, the idea that Indigenous peoples will actually benefit from modernity prevails. The literature is divided along these two conflicting views and dominated by binary oppositions: traditional/modern; backward/advanced; sustainable/unsustainable, etc. This article discusses the tradition/modernity dichotomy and raises the following questions: is it relevant to think in terms of modernity/tradition in the case of Indigenous peoples? What does the use of such a dichotomy imply? What is the alternative? The article demonstrates that this binary opposition is neither relevant nor desirable, and that a new analytical framework is required. Instead, it proposes using a normalisation framework, which focuses on the attempts made to ‘normalise’ Indigenous peoples and to encourage them to comply with existing social and economic models.     

The Quality of Annual Reporting by Italian Museums: An International Comparison

We study the quality of disclosure and the level of accountability of Italian museums using MPADI2 index (Wei et al. 2008; Botes et al. 2013) on a sample of 13 annual reports which, given the legal status of some entities, encompasses the activity of 93 Italian public and private museums, many of which are within the most visited in Italy and worldwide. The results allow for an international comparison with the annual reports of a panel of USA, UK and European museums which have undergone the same MPADI2 analysis, giving an interesting insight about museum different disclosing practices across countries.     

Relativism

Modern democracies increasingly confuse civic or political equality with a radical relativism that calls into question legitimate principles of hierarchy and the very idea of reasonable value judgments. This confusion reflects a “corruption,” in Montesquieu’s sense, of democracy rooted in a refusal to recognize distinctions that are integral to both human nature and social life. A moderate form of cultural relativism is a genuine intellectual achievement that helps combat ethnocentrism and allows one to better appreciate the full range of human experience. But criteria of meaning and truth are by no means entirely dependent upon cultural context. Our contemporary awareness of the “relativity” of cultures and historical experiences must be complemented by a robust appreciation of the universality of Reason and citizenship.

The Public Management of Risk: The Case for Deliberating among Worldviews

This article argues that the public management of risk faces inherent "wicked issue" problems which are further accentuated in the context of the contemporary regulatory state. It is suggested that in order to overcome these limitations and inevitable trade-offs, there needs to be a more conscientious effort in setting out distinct components of any public management of risk, which should be considered and discussed through the lens of distinct worldviews contrasting interpretations and solutions, as well as potential "black-spots." It is only by acknowledging limitations of any one strategy and by considering plural solutions that there is less likelihood of disappointment when dealing with crises and disasters.     

文学与博览会的对话——以1935年台湾博览会为中心

1935年的台湾博览会,台湾总督府作为策展者,力求将台湾装扮成“繁荣”、“昌盛”的形象,这些展示成了外界判定“日本殖民有功论”的资料证据。当时,台湾知识分子对博览会有相关的记述和叙事,他们以自己的“小叙述”,或纠正,或对抗策展者的“大叙述”。经由博览会这一空间,可以解读出台湾“殖民现代性”的驳杂性和多义性。     

论侗族建房仪式与仪式歌

侗族在建房过程中要举行两大仪式:其一是新房落成庆典;二是开财门仪式。过去由于人们对这两大仪式的文化涵义理解不够,所以对产生于两大仪式中的仪式歌未予以重视。为帮助人们理解侗族两大建房仪式与仪式歌的关系,本文将从分析侗族两大建房仪式的文化涵义入手,以揭示其内在的联系。     

“红船精神”之时代价值论析

红船精神所蕴含的首创精神、奋斗精神和奉献精神,已经形成了一种永恒的文化品格。在中国革命、建设与改革的不同阶段,红船精神具有不同的价值。新时代,红船精神的价值体现在四个方面:红船精神是激发创新精神的思想源泉,是坚定理想信念的鲜明旗帜,是增强文化自信的精神力量,是激励奋进不息的生活态度的现实动力。     

全球化条件下的文化安全探析

经济全球化是当今时代的一个重要特征，每一个国家都将面对错综复杂的国内外形势。中国在社会主义现代化建设的进程中，相较于西方国家文化安全的理论研究与现实发展，文化安全建设稍显滞后，面临着较大的威胁与挑战。理论上提出对策，实践中坚决反对文化霸权、力促先进文化的构建成为我国当前的一个重大现实课题。